I can imagine AI academics are in a tough spot. However what about the existential angst the rest of us - who don't even do anything AI related on a day to day basis - are feeling? I think big changes are coming and it's not gonna be pretty.
I was also considering building a gaming pc to also be able to play around with ai / ml, only, I'm not even sure what one would be able to run locally anymore even with a 4090?
Overall? I feel you. It makes me worried for the new grads today. I don't really know if this old dog is up for new tricks.